Session VI: Multi-Functional Teams

Session Co-Chairs

• Lionel O'Young, ClearWaterBay Technology
• Joe Cramer, AIChE

Schedule

Working with Parallel Universes

Jack Hipple, Innovation TRIZ

In working on cross-disciplinary problems, there are many challenges in understanding the technology and biases of others and how they can contribute to our projects. However, it’s not just the others on the team that we need to understand and leverage. It’s the potential parallel universes of technology, that we often ignore, that can assist us in developing breakthrough technologies. The barriers to recognizing and using these parallel universes is most frequently our egos, that make us want to believe our problems and challenges are special and unique, and the many special acronyms and words we use in a particular technology area that reinforces the idea that the problems we have are special. They seldom are.

For example, a recent consortium that formed in Houston, TX between the oil and gas industry and the medical heart researchers is exploring how their similar experiences in fluid flow and friction factors can accelerate technology developments in both fields. These two major industries have been centered in Houston, TX for decades, but have just now have started talking to each other. A similar collaboration has now formed in Europe. The question we need to ask is where we might be with cardiac conditions and more efficient oil and gas recovery if these two industries had talked to each other decades ago.

This presentation will show additional examples and demonstrate some useful techniques to “generalize” the problems we have and how to search for parallel universes of solutions.

From Process Technology to Commercial Scale Production

Mark Shmorhun, Myriant Corporation

The design and construction of a commercial scale renewable fuels facility frequently originates with a technology package owned or licensed by the plant developer.  As the name implies, such a package embodies process know-how in the form of material and energy balances, flow diagrams, P&ID’s and other documents. 

This package forms the basis for detailed engineering, procurement, construction, startup and training.  Complex interaction amongst many disciplines and companies is required to successfully transition from basic design to an operational facility.  Several of these interactions will be highlighted in this presentation using the example of developing a typical mid west corn based fuel ethanol plant from basic design to revenue generation.

Global Dimensions of New Product Development: A Case Study

Michael Popule, Air Products

In this presentation, Mike Popule will walk through a case study involving the global development of new platform of performance materials. This project took on new dimensions from technology capability development, project management, supply chain, asset management, regulatory and legal perspectives. 

Team members were both geographically diverse (North America, South America, Europe and Asia) and functionally diverse covering 15 defined roles.  The presentation will cover the scope and objectives for the program, some of the functional challenges and the approach taken to team organization and project management.

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